{
  "id": 5807595,
  "title": "ACBF, Gates Foundation Urge African Govts to Invest in Leadership for Sustainable Reforms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/acbf-gates-foundation-urge-african-govts-to-invest-in-leadership-for",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-05T15:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/09/05/acbf-gates-foundation-urge-african-govts-to-invest-in-leadership-for-sustainable-reforms/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have urged African governments to invest more in leadership development within the public sector, arguing that merely having technical expertise and sound policies is insufficient to achieve sustainable reforms. This call came during a webinar organized by ACBF titled 'Leading Public Sector Transformation in Africa: Leadership Lessons from the LEAPS Programme'. The session focused on how leadership capabilities could assist governments in overcoming resistance, improving public financial management (PFM), and transforming reforms into measurable institutional results. Mamadou Biteye, ACBF's Executive Secretary, emphasized that public-sector reform is often hindered not by a shortage of ideas, but by the inability to lead change, establish trust, facilitate stakeholder coordination, surmount resistance, and maintain progress. He further explained that the Leadership Excellence for Africa’s Public Sector (LEAPS) programme, backed by the Gates Foundation, was created to address this gap, recognizing that while technical expertise is crucial, it is not enough to drive complex institutional reforms. Biteye stated that successful leaders must inspire people, build trust, navigate competing interests, manage resistance, and sustain momentum during challenging times. Adil Ababou, Senior Programme Officer at the Gates Foundation, highlighted three key lessons from the LEAPS programme. Firstly, institutions and systems do not transform independently; people are the leaders of these changes. He noted that many issues in public finance are not purely technical but involve consensus-building, managing resistance, and sustaining momentum during shifts in political or economic conditions. The second lesson is that the LEAPS programme is designed to empower participating countries to define their own reforms, rather than imposing pre-determined solutions. This approach respects the sovereignty and policy ownership of African nations. The third lesson is that leadership needs to be a collective effort rather than an individual ability. Ababou emphasized that when institutions support leaders with space to act, senior officials provide backing, and stakeholders unite around change, individual leadership can generate institutional momentum. The LEAPS initiative, a six-month leadership development program offered through ACBF's Ubora Academy, has already enrolled over 295 participants from eight African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The program integrates self-paced online learning with live sessions, executive coaching, group mentoring, technical seminars, and peer exchanges. Its curriculum includes modules on African leadership, self-awareness and emotional intelligence, team management, strategic organizational change, and stakeholder engagement. Early results from the first cohort indicate that participants are successfully applying their leadership skills to enhance PFM reforms and institutional practices. In Kenya, for instance, the focus on people-centered leadership has complemented technical expertise in advancing digital PFM reforms and aligning stakeholders. In Senegal, leadership training has improved delegation, participatory management, and communication, including efforts to enhance budget transparency. In Ghana, coaching has bolstered accountability and collaboration between finance and audit institutions. In Zimbabwe, reflective and empathetic leadership has enabled officials to navigate complex reforms under resource constraints. These outcomes demonstrate that leadership is not just about personal growth but also about transforming institutional practices and achieving sustainable development goals.",
  "summary": "Michael Olugbode in Abuja The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have called for increased investment in leadership development across Africa’s public sector, saying technical",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}